NHL Insider reveals when “all bets are off” with Mitch Marner

The Toronto Maple Leafs have already made a franchise-altering move, terminating head coach Sheldon Keefe and hiring former St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup-winning bench boss Craig Berube aboard as his official full-time replacement. 

But in the upcoming weeks and months, speculation will continue to grow regarding the futures of both John Tavares and Mitch Marner with the franchise. Both players are set to enter the final years of their respective contracts, and there is thought that GM Brad Treliving could elect to let one or both of them go. 

There has been more smoke surrounding Marner, especially after he once again struggled to replicate his productive regular season performance in the postseason, and whether his hefty AAV of $11 million could be better utilized filling other needs the Leafs have. 

According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, he doesn't anticipate any movement on either side until both parties "sit down and talk". 

"I don't think anything is going to happen until the Leafs and [Marner] sit down and talk and understand what the contract asks and proposals are going to be. Then we'll see where we really are," Friedman opined. "If the Marner camp thinks the Leafs come with something outrageous or the Leafs think the Marner camp comes with something outrageous, then all bets are off."

Marner has spent his entire NHL career with the Maple Leafs, but has drawn considerable criticism in recent years for his lack of killer instinct in the postseason, and has taken plenty of the blame for the fact that the franchise has only won a single playoff round since 2004. 

Will we see Marner on the move this summer? It will certainly be one of the more intriguing storylines of the offseason, which will be one of the most critical for Treliving along with team president Brendan Shanahan in the wake of Berube's hiring. 

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